There weren’t many people on the plane from Los Angeles so I could stretch out across five seats and actually sleep as we crossed the Atlantic. Earlier in the flight, I had been allowed onto the flight deck just as we were flying over a nighttime St. Louis, glowing like a green and gold octopus […]
It is now 6 months since I last actually worked at the office and not from home. All these months of different routines, of exception, of waiting, have lead to a sort of lethargy. Perhaps some other things, too, have played a part, like it simply being winter. The lengthening days and warmer sun do […]
So maybe this change in routine has affected me more than I realize. Maybe my sheltering in place is no longer due to a virus but a depression. I like the social distancing. Maybe a little too much. I think it may be depression because I don’t do anything at home. Earlier I wrote about […]
This April is being spent at home, mostly indoors, away from loved ones, away from strangers. 2 meters apart indoors, 1 meter apart outdoors. Riding in cars and buses is limited or not doable at all. So, I invite you to Aprils past. The following photos are from various earlier years. Kvarven On the point […]
It’s been almost a month since I’ve been at the office. As it happens, my lunch gang all live near me and today we meet for lunch outdoors. It’s one of those classic April days: Still winter in the shade, darned near full summer in the sunshine. A day that’s hard to dress right for. […]
“Dugnad”. Google translate says it means voluntary work. I live in the land of “dugnad”. It is actually unpaid work, usually for a common cause. (And pronounced sort of like “doog-nahd”.) Dugnad is not always pleasant or even voluntary. Certainly jokes abound about creative efforts to get out of doing dugnad, born out of how […]
Prologue: I am no longer on partial sick leave. I am considered well and am back to work 100%! I have new tasks but am the master of my day, even though my work calendar has never been as full as it is now! Now: I was tasked with teaching some part-time workers about what […]
This year I seem to be more aware of budding trees. At this point in the season, where nights are still cold, although days are warmer, growth is slow, careful. I woke up to frost this morning, but now, as we approach sunset, my balcony is baking at a whole 26C/78F in the sun! Won’t […]
Of all the seasonal transitions, the one between winter and spring seems to be the most violent. I’ve tried to predict weather using astrology (astrometeorology). The starting point are the seasonal ingress charts, i.e. the charts for the equinoxes and the solstices or the cardinal signs. For the spring equinox the chart is made for […]
I cannot remember when men first landed on the moon, in 1969. I was alive and old enough to remember something like that. We had a TV. That is to say, my granduncle had a TV—up on the old farm, in a little valley above a fjord. There was nothing on it until 6 pm, […]
The charm of Bergen is its old streets and equally old houses. The classic tourist photos look something like this: An old residential street So I thought I’d show you the less charming, more modern side. The side of the city I usually see. Honestly, I like this part, too. It’s just not the most […]
If you follow me on Instagram, you will recognize some of these photos. Leaving the good stuff only to IG isn’t fair to my blog only readers, so here you go! First up is from earlier this fall, in the neighborhood of our university, at Øysteins gate. I think Øystein was a king. We have […]
Here’s a blast from the past (September 13 2008). I love the play of shadows and the blue reflecting in the water. Somewhere-north-of-here fjord I actually did not recognize where the above was until I looked at some of the other photos from the same day: This was from an overnight trip with my then-department. […]
Norway has been good to me, dentally. My grandpa was also good to me. Orthodontics are subsidized but still cost out of pocket. So the year I had no cavities I started wearing a retainer. One thing Norwegian children have been through together, is the school dentist. In my part of Norway, the school dentist […]
I have seen the plans for the light rail station coming to my bit of the ‘burbs. I know that the footbridge I have crossed to and from work since 1986 will become history and I’ll get a new bridge about 50 meters to the west. “My” footbridge as seen on the way home It […]
I am in love with the city light rail in Bergen, Norway, called “bybanen” (BEE-bah-nen). It took five years after it was built for me to actually ride the darned thing, but after that, it has become my most popular modern addition to this old medieval town. And now they’re building a line to my […]
I remember strikes used to terrify me. I was so brain-washed by the American view of unions that I quit mine here in Norway once in a panic. I rejoined quickly and have a gold pin for 25 years’ membership and first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to be on a proper strike.As April rolls […]
Nothing is certain but death and taxes. And swear words. Back when I still lived in the US, my mother and I got window seats at Philippe’s in downtown Los Angeles on the evening of April 15th, to watch people slowly driving by to toss their returns into huge hoppers on Alameda, which was one-way […]
I read about this very bright object being shot up into orbit around Earth earlier this year, just to twinkle in natural sunlight as an artificial star for a few months. And I noted that it would be visible from Norway on April 24-25 2018. I’ve had this date marked on my calendar since I […]
The great national holiday in Norway, on May 17th, is a far more involved and formal event than the equivalent celebration in the US, on July 4th. There are also a lot of traditions and traditional food associated with the day. This year, I’m going to partake in a 17th of May breakfast in town. […]
A Roll in the Universe 